The accessibility of information and data has exploded in recent years due, in part, to the increased popularity of online communication between users. In particular, currently used wide area networks, such as, for example, the World Wide Web (“WWW”) or Internet, allow the exchange of enormous amounts of data between users without much regulation. Thus, a user in possession of particular data or information can, with relative ease, freely distribute the information to thousands, if not millions, of other users.
Although some of the distributed information is public information or information considered to be within the public domain, other information that is being distributed is not within the public domain, but rather, is privately owned. In these instances, the rights of the owners of this information is being violated. Indeed, the unauthorized distribution of materials, such as, photographs, music and articles, violates a variety of rights, including copyrights and trademark rights of the owners, such as, authors, songwriters and photographers.
Currently, if owners of material desire to know whether anyone is infringing upon their rights, a manual or visual comparison of the contents of every suspected or unknown file must be made. Comparing a source file to thousands or hundreds of thousands of files is an extremely difficult, if not impossible, task. Indeed, a review and search of a repository of files to ascertain whether any of the files are duplicates of protected material, in whole or in part, is currently a long, laborious, expensive, and often, imprecise process. Further, there is no method of knowing whether anyone else is researching, that is, comparing, the same sets of files. Thus, these monumental efforts may be duplicated unnecessarily.
In addition to the issue of protecting content or material, in some instances, distribution of some materials requires that mandatory information be associated with the file. For example, some federal statutes require that certain types of identifying information be associated with content files that are used on wide area computer networks, such as, the Internet. Association of the required information with a particular file can become cumbersome and impossible as the file is distributed from user to user. Indeed, the current holder of a copy of the file may not have any ability to comply with the requirements as they may not have received the file from the original owner of the file. Existing methods do not address the problem of handling this information.
In addition, in some instances, other types of information which may affect the use or distribution of the data, such as, licensing, or copyright information is also desirable to include within the file. In this manner, a prospective buyer of the file can ascertain a variety of information, including whether the person offering the file for sale is authorized to do so and thereby prevents fraud or misappropriation of the rights of others, including, intellectual property rights. Currently, no method exists that allows on-line access to pertinent information pertaining to restrictions on use or distribution of the data, or for any other purpose.
A need in the industry exists for a system that allows an owner of protectable material to locate unauthorized use and distribution of such material on a network, or even a stand alone computer. A further need exists for a system that allows users to ascertain use or distribution limitations, and to verify the rights of the distributor of such material such that potential users of the material are assured that they are purchasing or distributing authorized copies of the materials.